OffsetGuitars.com

BrendanP wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:15 pm

He was pretty quick to respond and his turnaround time was really good. Given what's been going on in California lately, it may related to that. I'd reach out to him again.

That's good to know, thanks. I didn't want to bug him with multiple e-mails but at a certain point I have to assume either I was spam filtered or he just doesn't check e-mails (I know some small shops are kinda that way, where calling them is the most reliable way to get a hold of someone). I'll try a second time.

sangtlee wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:47 pm

Any other recommendations out there? Based on a few other recommendations, I reached out to Joe Riggio...but it turns out that he's only doing solid colors right now...and I'm looking for a slight metallic flake in my finish.

Anyone out there have good (or bad) experiences with the following refinishers?

http://www.martybellfinishing.com/
http://www.rowycokustoms.com/
https://store.rsguitarworks.net/
https://www.wilkinsguitars.com/c
http://superiorguitar.com/
http://www.laysguitar.com/
https://www.bjrguitars.com/

TIA,
Sang

I have experience with Marty Bell, Rowyco Kustoms, and RS Guitarworks, and they all were positive. All 3 were poly finishes, though, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference. Marty Bell was the fastest and the quality was great. Rowyco took a while (several months if I recall), but the finish quality was equally as great. RS Guitarworks did an excellent job, too, and turnaround time was about 3 months. Hope that helps.

Thanks everyone for their input and suggestions...I'll do some more research and update everyone when I've made a choice...and will post before/after photos here. I've added https://guitarmill.com/ to my list of possible options.

I know I already commented on Guitar Mill (great work, long lead time, good communication), but the one other thing to know about them is that they charge $50-$110 more to finish someone else's body than to finish a Guitar Mill body. It depends on the type of finish. Solid colours are $50 extra, and flakes are $100 extra for using an outsourced body.

In the case of a refinish with the extra labour charges (unless you're doing a perfect stripping job yourself) it would be far cheaper to sell the existing body and have them build you one. The make super high quality bodies, easily among the best out there, so unless you've got a body with sentimental value or a shape they can't make, that's something to consider.

I'm not sure when you say you've got a '65 JM body if that's a vintage one or an AV65. If it's vintage, obviously you don't want to be flipping and replacing it, but I thought I'd mention all this for anyone who's considering them for a finish job.

My recent experience with MJT would make me advise to stay away if you are going for a pristine finish (as some others have noted). The previous time I used them was great.
Just arrived Friday:


Previous job:


I have used Lay's Guitar a few times and they are really good. I've have had two nitro refins from them that were tip-top.

As for Rowyco, I sent them a guitar more than a year ago and it's still not done. He's in the process of building a new workshop or something, so I think I just had more bad timing than anything.

Jaguar018 wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:00 am

As for Rowyco, I sent them a guitar more than a year ago and it's still not done. He's in the process of building a new workshop or something, so I think I just had more bad timing than anything.

Yeah, I e-mailed Stike a couple weeks ago about a super-specific finish I was looking to get recreated and he basically said, "I can absolutely do that, if you're willing to be patient. I'm finishing up construction on a new shop and can't take on any new work just yet."

So he's being upfront and honest about the situation. I don't know if maybe the shop-switch was urgent/unplanned (fire/flood/needing to separate from a shared space with another business due to COVID, etc), but it kinda sounds like it was unexpected if he's had your body for that long. His turnaround is usually a few weeks AFAIK.

BrendanP wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:15 pm

Very happy Marty Bell customer here. He doesn't do nitro, but he does thin poly. He was (is?) G&L's sparkle finish guy. Great work and I'll use him again.

BrendanP wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:01 pm

He was pretty quick to respond and his turnaround time was really good. Given what's been going on in California lately, it may related to that. I'd reach out to him again.

Just to follow up, I sent my second message to him, using the form on his web site rather than the email (which I had used last month so I could attach a photo of what I was looking to have done), and he replied within 48 hours. Thanks for suggesting I try again. Either I got spam filtered or he opened it while clearing out a backlog at some point over the holidays and lost track of what had been replied to, or something.

Either way, he was quick to respond the second time.

mbene085 wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:35 am

I'm not sure when you say you've got a '65 JM body if that's a vintage one or an AV65. If it's vintage, obviously you don't want to be flipping and replacing it, but I thought I'd mention all this for anyone who's considering them for a finish job.

'65 vintage JM body...so am keeping it.

BrendanP wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:01 pm

Very happy Marty Bell customer here. He doesn't do nitro, but he does thin poly. He was (is?) G&L's sparkle finish guy. Great work and I'll use him again.

Is that Jaguar painted in Sonic Blue? That finish looks absolutely outstanding!

patski wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 30, 2021 12:56 pm

Is that Jaguar painted in Sonic Blue? That finish looks absolutely outstanding!

Yes, it's Sonic Blue. One of my favorite Fender colors and Fender never uses that color for their lefty offerings.

BrendanP wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 30, 2021 9:28 pm

patski wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 30, 2021 12:56 pm

Is that Jaguar painted in Sonic Blue? That finish looks absolutely outstanding!

Yes, it's Sonic Blue. One of my favorite Fender colors and Fender never uses that color for their lefty offerings.

It looks SO SMOOTH, like glass. I don't think I've ever seen Sonic Blue look so divine. WOW!

So on the happy Marty Bell customers... I have to say the confederate flag guitars in his gallery are a huge turn off to me as a customer.

As noted previously, Starr Guitars in Orlando does nitro and has a great reputation and online presence:

https://starrguitars.com/
https://www.instagram.com/starrguitars/

blunderbuss wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 15, 2021 11:05 am

So on the happy Marty Bell customers... I have to say the confederate flag guitars in his gallery are a huge turn off to me as a customer.

I hadn't noticed those. That's a pretty interesting point you bring up.

mbene085 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:46 pm

blunderbuss wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 15, 2021 11:05 am

So on the happy Marty Bell customers... I have to say the confederate flag guitars in his gallery are a huge turn off to me as a customer.

I hadn't noticed those. That's a pretty interesting point you bring up.

It's wild. I mean, they're extremely well done and he obviously has talent. Just not something I feel comfortable endorsing now that I have the knowledge.

It's a sparkle take on the Dean Dimebag Dixie Rebel and I agree that it's problematic.